What a beach is supposed to be

Headed up north to the beaches. Stayed at Waikiki resort which was pretty good on the water. Smaller and cozier than the larger resorts and definitely better.
Beach here stretches out for a kilometer into the water with the tides and the sand is white and fine grained.

There was also the weekly Friday night party on the beach (at the bar) which kept us up till 3am but it got the kids out and about.

Went diving for a bit but it was not that impressive so we just decided to save some money and relax instead for somewhere else. Spent the rest of the days watching the kitesurfers and wannabes beat themselves into shape while the locals were all speaking Italian since most of the tourists on this end hail from Italy. Odd but it added to the whole cultural mix in the area.

Definitely worth the trip.

City walkabout - Slaves and Missionaries and Markets

The birth of Swahili. The trading of ivory and spices. A fulcrum of the slave trade. History is rampant along the streets and within the buildings on this island. A thousand years of different peoples landing has left a lot of rich memories for better and worse on the landscape.

Symbols of Chains

Kept and packed like tuna

Church

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Market

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Still moving goods 100's of years later

Stone Town Sunset

Zanzibar - Stone Town

Made it over on the ferry. Quaint town here. Not as whitewashed as advertised - Mombasa was a similar experience but without the hype. Not to say that it isn't a place to have a stroll along.
Checked out the architecture and the surroundings.

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Because when the gods laugh at you, they do it for a while

Yesterday we had the ride from hell with the jeep practically falling apart on us. Today was supposed to be a straightforward jump on the 8 hour bus to Dar. Passed the customary roadside carnage on the way until a few hours in and what would you know, another flat tire on the bus. After a momentary skid and loss of steering control we managed to pull to the shoulder right next to a very small village. The next couple hours was a case
study in why flying, while more expensive, is sometimes the much more prudent option.

1. The back of the bus couldn't be opened. It was wedged too tight so that we couldn't get out the pump neither the other tools needed to make a change
2. Just our luck another bus came by. It dropped off some tools, and picked up some passengers
to take on. We were not on that bus.
3. Second bus comes by later. They drop off more tools but don't take on any additional passengers, basically a 'you're on your own' drive by. There were other options but we just had too much
baggage to cram in with the other 30 people sitting in the 18 seater.

4. Needed a volunteer to fall under the bus as it were. Not a pretty sight since the jack didn't seem so secure but what else could you do

Another long hour later, after some able bodied passengers figured out the best way to use sticks and poles we were able to get the tire changed and it was back on the bus. Having lost time on the way it was speedy gonzales all the way to Dar and then at night.

Only the strong survive

Driving Purgatory

Not quite hell because we had such a good start to the day but we should have known that we were due for something like this.
1st level to hell
Merrily merrily on our way back and wham, first flat tyre. All good no problem. The spare one was adjudged to be too soft so we instead borrowed one from the other guys' jeep.
merrily merrily....

2nd level to hell
10 minutes later and wham! Another blowout. Don't have another spare so had to get the soft one that we didn't intend to use in the first place. Not a good sign you say! How right you are I say!

3rd level to hell
When it happens this often you know someone somewhere has a perverse sense of humor. Not only did we get another flat, but having exhausted all available wheels we had to basically use the original wheel. How far was that going to get us? Only a couple miles. Turned off at a service station and tried to get the tyre patched up. The gash was so large that it was just easier to get a new tread so thus we did and we were on our way again finally....

Right up until the hood blows off the jeep as we're doing 80 to make up for lost time.
Fortunately we were the only vehicle in the lane at the time as the driver was blinded
as we slowed down and pulled over.
Very old school we literally had to take a piece of rubber hosing and tie down the bonnet to hold it steady enough till we could get back to town.

At long, long, last we arrived into town and back to our room. A pretty balanced day in retrospect

Here in the perfect zoo

Since we started safari I knew that your run of the mill zoo would probably never have me
as a visitor again, not when you've seen all this natural wildlife out here. Today was extra
special because the old volcanic crater is deep enough that the animals don't migrate so
you are left with all your average tourist attractions and then some!!

inside the crater

it's pretty big

looking down

You've got the hyenas and pups

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the cheetahs

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pseudo river crossing if you use your imagination

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along with more of the requisite lions etc.

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can't keep patting the hair down.

A very very good day....at least until the ride back started.

The way to Ngorongoro

Started off with another long drive across the savannah but not as bewildering as the first day.
Did our game viewing on the way. Also met a driver who was lost, apparently 5 hours off course
from where he expected to be at this time. Not sure how he was going to make it with the directions
given but that's the risk you take somewhere this big.

hippo swamp

follow them to the cats

got lucky again and found us a leopard where I could actually get a more decent picture this time
and some more of the wildlife just standing still enjoying the grassland. Everybody getting along fine.

Another sleeper

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19+ hours a day

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Met another safari group on the way who had broken down...twice. We called them very unlucky,
but we should have been saving that worry for ourselves the next day.

Sacrificing Cheetahs for a migration

There was some misunderstanding at the start of the day. We declared that we had not yet
seen a cheetah so that would be outstanding if possible, before heading up to the Mara river
to see a possible wildebeest migration. Our guide took that to mean we would be content if
we saw a cheetah. In the end we did get the first part of the equation correct.
405,418

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Thereafter when it became evident that we were not heading north the day was spent reflecting on
the fortunate sightings we did have. can't fume about what-if's forever. There's always next
trip!

Serengeti Dreaming - Is another dusty, long, uncomfortable safari worth it?

After the mountain we spent a couple days relaxing in Moshi and Arusha, very necessary steps
considering the bronchitis diagnosis that we got from the clinic. So rest was paramount.
In the end, considering all this again in a once-in-a-lifetime context, we figured the
Serengeti was more than worth a run through. The part we missed is that with the slightly
abridged version of the route we would have a long day of travel up to Serengeti National park,
not all that deflating until you get on the roads and realize they are even worse than expected.
The tracks inside the parks were better than the roads to get there so after 8 long hours
and some obligatory feeding stops we did an afternoon game drive at the northern section of
the park. Lobo lodge here is idyllic in terms of its location, hidden amongst the rocks and
its lack of fences. So giraffes, buffalo, everything was at your doorstep which we were
used to by now...

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Dusty and unruly

got settled in at the lodge for another of those pleasant sunsets in the middle of nowhere